8.31.2006

Guedelon Castle

I came across this article about a French project to build an authentic Burgundian castle using only hand tools and local materials, as would have been done in the middle ages. It's a very ambitious project, one that won't be complete until 2023. However, it's already drawing hundreds of thousands of tourists, since it's the only place you can see a castle actually being built the way they once were. Europe, after all, already has plenty of castles in varying states of repair.

The craftsmen don't plan to stop with just the castle. Tourism is bringing in enough money that they are financially independent, and they plan to build an abbey and village once the castle is complete.